Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church of Christ. Please feel free to follow along.
Throughout Jesus ministry he has been one step ahead of the Pharisees and Jewish elders. He has caught them in their own game. He has backed them into corners. He has aggravated them so much that they even put him to death. Jesus does not disappoint. Even in death he trips up the ruling class of Jews as we see in today’s reading (Matthew 28).
Three days after dying Jesus arises from death. The stone is rolled away and he is alive. It is that conquering of the grave that separates Jesus death from all other deaths. He is the only man to ever bring himself back to life. That is because he is fully God while being fully man. That conquering of death allows him to provide salvation to all.
While doing that, he causes the rulers of the Jewish people to dig themselves deeper into the hole. They have seen the miracles many times. They have heard Jesus talk about being the Son of Man. They have put him to death and witnessed the tearing of the veil in the temple. Now they even have a first hand account of his resurrection. But instead of believing he is the promised Messiah, their hearts are hardened, and they devise a lie to spread about his disciples stealing the body.
Friends, do you know people who have all the evidence in the world to show who Jesus is, but they too have heard hearts, and no desire to accept Christ as Lord? I pray that the closing verses give you a challenge to continue presenting the message of the resurrection to them. Those final verses call us to make disciples. I pray that is a challenge you live by each day.
Starting tomorrow we will begin the book of Acts. Before we do, I would like to provide you some background information on the book of Acts. That information will post at 7:00 tonight … Tuesday Feb. 9th.
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